No Subject

["Sue M. Dupre" <dupre@phoenix.Princeton.EDU>]

Good Afternoon!  I'm in the process of taking a HazMat Technician Training
Course being taught by an instructor with extensive hazardous material
emergency experience but relatively limited radiation background and 
experience.  At one point yesterday the discussion digressed and the 
instuctor began to talk about his experience with the remediation of 
a radium watch dial factory in northern New Jersey.

He launched into an explanation of the history of radium dial painting and
made the statement that "... every one of the girls and women developed
cancers of the tongue, throat or some other kind of oral cancer!"  I
don't actually know the incidence of oral cancers among that population
(though I do remember that there's been previous discussion on RADSAFE
about the limited incidence of BONE cancer amond the dial painters), but
that sounded very wrong, so I challenged him.  He explained that's what he
was told by other people during the radium site remediation.  I figure
I owe it to him and myself to look into the facts (especially since he's
clearly reluctant to let go of this cherished "fact").  

Can any of you tell me something about the incidence of oral cancers
among those women and point me towards references?  

With thanks,

Sue M. Dupre, Health Physicist
Office of Occupational Health & Safety
Princeton University
E-Mail:  dupre@princeton.edu           Phone:  609/258-6252